Officer-involved shooting reported in Hawthorne prompting street closures; Suspect arrested

HAWTHORNE, Calif. (FOX 11) - A police officer and a suspect were both shot and wounded in an officer-involved shooting Sunday, authorities said.

The officer suffered a gunshot wound reportedly to the leg and was rushed to an area hospital, where Hawthorne police said he was awake and alert.

The suspect was struck by gunfire and taken to a local hospital in unknown condition, said Deputy Juanita Navarro-Suarez of the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department's Information Bureau.

That suspect was later arrested in connection with the officer-involved shooting, the Hawthorne PoliceDepartment said, adding that no other suspects were involved in the incident.

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Hawthorne Police Chief Ishii confirmed during a press conference that veteran officer was shot in the leg by the suspect. It started as domestic dispute, ended with gun fight between officer and suspect.

The suspect is in custody.

Ishii said the gunman was armed with "some sort of assault rifle ... or high-capacity weapon."

The officer who was shot was taken to the trauma center. Chief says he is a veteran office, no name was given. He is alert.

Chief Ishii hopes he'll make a full recovery, but is still being treated.

There was a large police presence in the area of Rosecrans Avenue and Aviation Boulevard in Hawthorne that has prompted the closures of those streets and the public asked to avoid the area.

Officers were dispatched about 9:20 a.m. to the 14400 block of Aviation Boulevard, where the shooting occurred, according to a watch commander at the Hawthorne Police Department.

Law enforcement responded to a report of an officer shot in the 14400 block of Aviation Boulevard Sunday morning.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department was called about 9:30 a.m. to assist in the investigation, according to the Sheriff's Information Bureau.

The shooting victim was taken to the hospital as police quickly set up a perimeter around the area to look for the suspect described as a black male adult about 5-feet 6-inches tall wearing a camouflage shirt and dark brown pants last seen running into the TownPlace Suites Hotel, armed with a high-powered rifle, according to the logs in the "Citizen" app.

A witness at the scene told reporters he saw the suspect pull his gun out and heard "tons of gunfire."

SWAT was called to the active scene to assist.

Anyone with information about the incident was asked to call (323) 890-5500.